1905.] 



687 



the larvae or grubs tunnel between the wood and the bark, and 

 the result of bad infestation is the death of the plant. 



The following symptoms may be taken as indications of 

 attack : — 



(a) Little snout punctures, as if the bark had been pierced 

 here and there by a needle. 



(b) Bead-like drops of resin issuing from these places. 



(c) Drooping of the plants, with a reddening of the needles. 



(a) At a late stage of the larva's work in young or smooth- 

 barked parts, little risings on the bark may be felt by the fingers, 

 or little ridges may be seen ; these mark the position of larval 

 tunnels or pupa beds. 



Description of Insect. — The beetle is red-brown in colour, and 

 measures up to § in. in length ; both upper and under surfaces 



Fig. i. — Pissodes noiaiits. Fig. 2. — Larva. 



(The line on the right shows natural size.) (Magnified). 



are powdered with white scales. On the upper surface of the 

 prothorax are four well-marked white points, and a fifth on the 

 scutellum. The wing-covers have two transverse yellowish or 

 whitish bands of scales, one in front and one behind their 

 middle ; the front one is non-continuous at the meeting place 

 of the wing-covers, whereas the hind one is continuous right 

 across the wing-covers. 



The larva is a fleshy, somewhat wrinkled, curled, legless grub, 

 with a brown scaly head and strong gnawing jaws. 



Life History. — The female after copulation lays her eggs in 

 punctures made in the bark. From these hatch out grubs, which 

 make galleries between the bark and the wood. If pines in tne 

 pole stage be chosen then several eggs may be laid near one 

 another, and the galleries, owing to the sufficiency of room at the 

 disposal of the grubs, show a star-like pattern ; in young plants 

 however, the larvae tunnel downwards or upwards. A trail of 



